Leominster soccer pro Diego Fagundez sticks with high school

Thursday

Jun 5, 2014 at 6:00 AM

Leominster's Diego Fagundez had just completed his sophomore year of high school when he contemplated his academic future. A rising star on and off the field for the New England Revolution, Fagundez signed a Major League Soccer contract with his hometown club nine months after turning 15 in 2010.

By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

FOXBORO — Diego Fagundez had just completed his sophomore year of high school when he contemplated his academic future.

Two more years of attending classes, doing homework and taking tests wasn't overly appealing to the Leominster resident. That didn't make him unlike many teens his age.

The difference, though, is there aren't many teens like Fagundez.

A rising star on and off the field for the New England Revolution, Fagundez signed a Major League Soccer contract with his hometown club nine months after turning 15 in 2010. The quick and crafty midfielder will reportedly earn a base salary of $110,000 this season, the second of a multiyear contract extension he inked in 2013.

In between those deals, Fagundez briefly became more concerned with being fully focused on his professional career than delicately balancing demanding athletic and academic commitments in pursuit of a high school diploma.

"I knew it would be tough (to do both) and I wanted to be here with the team and be playing," Fagundez said Tuesday afternoon after practice at Gillette Stadium.

However, Fagundez also understood "it was important" to graduate and use his public podium as a role model to promote the value of education. That scholastic stance was strongly supported by a network that included his parents, girlfriend and the entire Revolution organization, from investor/operator Robert Kraft on down.

So Fagundez studied on, enrolling at Goodrich Academy in Fitchburg for his final two years of high school.

"I knew it was going to be hard, but I knew I could do it," Fagundez, now 19, said. "I went to school for two more years and did it and now I can tell everyone I have a diploma."

Fagundez will proudly don a cap and gown Thursday night to take part in a commencement ceremony Goodrich Academy will hold beginning at 6 p.m. at Fitchburg High's Doug Grutchfield Field House. Don't be surprised to see a red-and-white tassel hanging from the rearview mirror of his 2013 Ford F-150 pickup afterward.

"I'm very happy to finish out my four years and get my diploma after some struggles," said Fagundez, who moved to Leominster with his family from his native Uruguay when he was 5. "It's going to be amazing to walk out there on Thursday."

As for the Revolution, they couldn't be more pleased with the positive outcome of this unique situation.

It was the first time in the franchise's 20 seasons it had a player attend high school while playing for the first team, as has been the case with Fagundez for most of the past three years. (Their under-18 and under-16 youth teams are stocked with high school students.)

"So it was the first time for all of us," Revs general manager and Marlboro native Michael Burns said. "It's something we completely supported and, frankly, wanted him to achieve. So we are proud. It's not easy to be a professional athlete and it's certainly not easy to be a professional athlete while juggling academics as well.

"So it's a credit to Diego that he stuck with it over the last few years and is going to get his high school degree on Thursday night. It's a credit to him to be able to give all the time and effort and dedication needed to be a professional athlete, but also keeping in mind the academic side of things as well."

Fagundez attended Leominster High for a year and a half before receiving private tutoring and taking online courses in the second semester of his sophomore year. He then matriculated to Goodrich Academy, which provides educational opportunities in a non-traditional school setting.

Fagundez regularly attended classes in the offseason and whenever possible in afternoons and evenings during the season. The accommodating staff worked around Fagundez's training, travel and playing schedule, just as they do with many of their students when it comes to outside obligations.

"We were certainly happy to be able to meet his needs," principal Michael R. Pelland said Wednesday.

"We have students from more than 30 communities that attend here. They all bring challenges with employment, but in Diego's case it was unique because his employment extends around the world."

The Revs spent four weeks conducting preseason training in Florida and Arizona in February and March. They've already played matches this season in Texas, Pennsylvania, California, Washington, D.C., and Illinois in addition to Toronto and Montreal.

Fagundez typically got his school work completed before hitting the road.

"It was one of those things where I wanted to be focused on soccer and enjoy the time with the guys and not be in my room stuck with doing my homework," he said.

Pelland stressed his star soccer student never missed a deadline and met all his obligations, including passing the MCAS tests "with ease." He didn't receive any special treatment and came across as an ordinary student.

"Here at school he was always Diego the student," Pelland said. "I'd say 95 percent of the students didn't know he was a soccer player.

He mingled with the students and talked about the same things they did. And I think he liked it that way." There wasn't a graduation party planned for Fagundez as of two days ago, at least to his knowledge. And it's back to work Friday morning anyway, as the Revs are practicing in advance of Sunday's match here against the New York Red Bulls.

"I could make Sunday my graduation party, maybe score a couple of goals," Fagundez said with a smile.

Considering his play as of late, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him celebrating a time or two on the turf at Gillette Stadium.

Fagundez is one of five nominees for the MLS Player of the Month award for May after collecting four goals and two assists in five games while helping the Revs go 4-1 and move into first place in the Eastern Conference. Voting will be announced Thursday morning.

"It's been going well, but it's one of those things that can go up and down," Fagundez said. "At the beginning, I don't know why, but I just couldn't finish my chances that I was having and couldn't do anything right for myself. But I was still trying to help out the team and once I scored the first one everything has gone better for me. I think the team is definitely playing well and we're working hard and that's why we're getting our results."

Hard work paid off for Fagundez in the classroom, as well. He'll receive his due reward Thursday night when he's handed his high school diploma, the fitting conclusion to a challenging course he wisely continued to follow two years ago.